Xander Schauffele could not contain his emotions after winning The Open, though he was quickly brought back down to earth when he remembered that he would not be able to take the trophy home with him.
After winning the PGA Championship in May, Schauffele made it a year to remember by landing the spoils at Royal Troon and moving to second in the world rankings.
He finished on nine-under-par with six birdies in his last round to move two shots clear of Justin Rose and Billy Horschel, sparking heart-warming scenes with his family after it became apparent that the victory was his.
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However, Schauffele has revealed that he was not the one going home with the trophy following his victory in Scotland.
In a clip shared by The Open, the American was shown being chauffeured around with his father, Stefa, who was actually holding the historic Claret Jug rather than his son.
Speaking about the arrangement, Schauffele went on to reveal that it is not unusual. He laughed: “Oh I don’t hold any of my trophies. My parents will take it.”
Stefan then interjected to joke: “The trophies are in a very safe place, and Xander has none of them!” Though the victor did not seem to have any complaints about the matter, replying: “This is all true.”
Schauffele thanked plenty of his camp for their support following his success at Royal Troon, though he has since theorised that he actually talked the success into a reality himself.
"The coolest trophy in sports"
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 24, 2024
The thoughts of Champion Golfer of the Year Xander Schauffele and his father at the end of a special week.@mercedesbenz | #DriveToDrive pic.twitter.com/UO1x1daV5Q
He explained: “The momentum people talk about in golf is all self-belief, it’s all confidence. Earlier in the week, I talked about winning that first major, didn’t really do anything for me walking into the major. But if I was ever in a place to win the tournament, I felt like it was going to give me an edge. And I feel like that’s exactly kind of what happened.
“I either spoke it into existence or that’s sort of what happened. Because coming down on that back nine, I was right there in the hunt, and I did it a few months ago and I told myself, 'You can take control of this tournament', knowing you won one just prior, and knowing how hard it is, if you can sneak a few birdies in when no one else is, you’re going to walk away with this thing.”
